Dear Susan, As my article mentions, the first step in joining the iPhone tribe is in learning about the coverage and reliability of the wireless service in your area, the area to which you are moving, and the places where you visit frequently. A family member’s relationship with AT&T may be a perfect fit for them. It may not be for you, particularly if you live or travel to places the other person does not. Once you have figured out if all, some or none of the four national wireless networks have consistent and reliable coverage, it is then time to focus on prices. T-Mobile has low-priced plans, although these are not advertised and not available in stores. The deals come for the other three carriers when resellers buy data and airtime in bulk at a deep discount and resell it at very low prices. A just released survey by Consumer Reports found high dissatisfaction with the major national carriers but high customer satisfaction levels from the resellers. You can enjoy nearly all the benefits from the sprint, AT&T or Verizon networks at one-half to one third of the cost of what most of those customers pay. True, the resellers do not offer the roaming the big boys offer, but unless you plan to go to sparsely populated areas regularly, like the upper peninsula of Michigan or northern Nevada, it is not an issue for most people.
The 5S will cost less, but it is important to realize that iPhones essentially have an expiration date. This is because the iOS software and apps will no longer be useful long before the solidly built and well-manufacture iPhone breaks and cannot be repaired. If the iPhone is kept in a hard shell case and away from water, the hardware will last for many years. Apple stops supporting iPhones after about four years from first release. If Apple maintains past practices, the 5S will receive its last major iOS in 2017 and will not take new updates starting in fall 2018. You will pay more for the iPhone 6, but you will have a year longer of use along with a better camera for OCR on the fly and Apple Pay, which could be a much bigger thing in the future. Kelly On 11/22/14, susan <susan.wojte...@gmail.com> wrote: > Kelly, > Thanks very much for the advice. I'll have to check out the article, smile. > > Besides being somewhat scared off by the technology until last year--I've > taught myself JAWS and OpenBook but we all know that's a far cry from > dealing with touch screens-- I am on a limited income and have been > concerned about monthly expenses. Ironically, my husband and I both have > non-contract Jitterbug phones and the month to month costs of the Iphone > are not much more than what I currently pay, and since I'm totally blind the > > Jitterbug's so-called accessibility has been laughable to me. Anyway, > between the timing and the pricepoint I think I'm ready for a 5S. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kelly Pierce > Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 8:41 PM > To: viphone@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: seeking advice on purchase of first iphone > > Dear Susan, > > Under the AT&T terms of service document, which is available online in > fully accessible format, only one statement is generated for a family > plan account. Family members not the phone company are responsible for > divvying up the bill and paying the primary account holder what they > owe. Each line has a two-year contract. If you are moving in a year, > you should be certain of the AT&T coverage for your new area as it > might be expensive to back out of a contract. Different parts of the > country usually have great service from one or two carriers but not > another. It would not surprise me to learn that you may be moving from > an area with good AT&T coverage to an area with poor coverage. > Inconsistent service quality from local area to local area is common > with the national carriers. > > If you have WIFI at home, download the app updates, NLS books, and > other big files on WIFI. You will rarely need more than one gig of > data. > > If you are looking for inexpensive plans, consider the $30 T-Mobile > plan for unlimited data and text and 100 voice minutes. Free calling > apps like Vonage and Magic Jack can bridge the difference for most > people. Ting, which uses the Sprint network, also offers a $30 plan. > > I wrote the article ‘iPhone on the Cheap” on AppleVis. The most > expensive part of owning an iPhone is the cost of monthly service, not > the phone itself. In researching the article, I found that most people > bought much more service than what they needed or used. It was as if > most people were buying a shopping cart full of great food each month > only to throw three quarters of it away uneaten. Essentially, they are > paying a lot of money for wireless service they will never need. Save > the money and boost your independent digital lifestyle even more with > some cool apps, brilliant new technology or anything else that makes > your life better. > > Kelly > > > > > On 11/21/14, susan <susan.wojte...@gmail.com> wrote: >> I understand about unlimited minutes etc. We will be moving within the >> year >> and hubby and I are reluctant to give up a landline completely. My >> question >> was about data usage, which I understand better after some research. My >> daughter and soninlaw have a family plan with AT&T with I think 10gb >> data, >> so I think we will try to go with their package if we can. I don’t know >> how >> complicated billing gets with separate addresses, but I’m sure it must be >> doable. My daughter’s going to talk to them this week to see what she can >> find out. My next question involves whether to order/purchase through >> Apple >> online or the carrier itself, lol, but this should be simple for you all >> to >> tell me. So many choices, so much confusion, smile. Many thanks. >> >> Susan >> >> From: Alan J Paganelli >> Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 12:08 PM >> To: viphone@googlegroups.com >> Subject: Re: seeking advice on purchase of first iphone >> >> I would start by asking myself what I wantan iPhone for. Will the phone >> replace a home telephone? Will it be my only phone? If it’s to be an >> only >> phone, then you could be able to afford a larger plan. The problem with >> a >> buck of minutes is, You would be forced to tell somebody; hey I can’t >> talk >> to you now, I’m on my day-time minutes. That’s like saying your not >> important enough for me to use my day-time minutes on. At the other end >> of >> the scale is unlimited. This means what it says. Unlimited talk 24/7. >> I >> have an unlimited talk, texting and 15 gigs worth of datashaired between >> 2 >> iPad Airs and 2 iPhones. I’m with AT&T who just sent me a message >> offering >> to up that to 30 gigs if I re-up for another 2 years. Data is if you buy >> music from iTunes, a book, an audio book, an app etc. >> >> In my opinion, it’s better to have it and not need it then to need it and >> not have it. If your keeping a home telephone with an answering machine >> you >> may get by with less on a cell package. The home based telephone is fast >> vanishing.My package is just under $200 but like I said, that covers 2 >> iPhones with unlimited talk and unlimited texting and 15 gigs worth of >> data. >> My wife likes her Farmville and facebook. I like facebook myself and we >> have never even come close to the 15 gig limit. >> >> HTH >> >> >> >> Regards, >> Alan >> Teenagers; Tired of being harassed by your parents? Act now!!!!! Move >> out. >> Get >> a job. Pay your bills wile you still know everything. >> Please click on: >> http://www.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ >> There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played >> on >> the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. I often add files so check back regularly! >> The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still >> available upon request. Thanks for listening! >> >> >> From: susan >> Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 1:12 PM >> To: viphone@googlegroups.com >> Subject: seeking advice on purchase of first iphone >> >> Hi listers, >> After using an Ipod Touch for about a year, I’m about ready to take the >> plunge of purchasing my first Iphone. I find myself somewhat confused >> when >> comparing rate plans among the various U.S. carriers. My primary >> question/concern is how to determine what data usage I need. In other >> words, >> how do streaming, downloading, email use etc. impact daily and monthly >> data >> allotments and how do I determine how much I am likely to need? What >> about >> individual vs. family plans? Please feel free to contact me off list at >> susan.wojte...@gmail.com if you’d prefer. Sorry for the basic questions >> but >> info much needed and appreciated. >> >> Susan >> -- >> The following information is important for all members of the viphone >> list. >> All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have >> any >> questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that >> >> a >> member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators >> directly rather than posting on the list itself. 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The archives for this >> list >> can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. > > All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any > questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a > > member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators > directly rather than posting on the list itself. The archives for this list > > can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. > All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any > questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a > member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators > directly rather than posting on the list itself. The archives for this list > can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. 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